SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, ACTING MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AT THE RACIAL HARMONY DISCOVERY DAY ON SATURDAY 17 JULY 2004 AT CCAB AT 8.30 AM

Mr Hawazi Daipi, Parliamentary Secretary
LG (NS) Lim Chuan Poh, Permanent Secretary
Miss Seah Jiak Choo, Director-General of Education
Ladies and Gentlemen
Boys and Girls

Good morning

1     I am very glad to join you to celebrate Racial Harmony Day. Each year we use this Day to celebrate Singapore’s multi-racial society, and appreciate the many ways in which our schools contribute to better understanding and friendships between the races.  It is a meaningful day for us in Education.

 
Our Young, the Key to Racial Harmony in the Future
2     Our young are the key to continued peace and harmony in Singapore. The values of multiracialism that they imbibe and practice in school, and at home and in the neighbourhood, are critical in securing Singapore’s future. 

3     I am therefore heartened to see that our schools have developed interesting and meaningful ways to strengthen the inculcation of these values. Northland Primary’s National Education Camp for Primary 4 pupils is an example. The pupils immersed themselves in activities such as Wushu, Silat and Yoga, and visits to places of worship such as Chinese and Indian temples, a Mosque and a Church. They also took in the gastronomic delights of the various races in Singapore  -  who says National Education isn’t fun?  -  and learnt to eat with chopsticks and their hands, and from bowls and banana leaves. And more importantly, the pupils had opportunity through the overnight camp to interact, bond and make friendships.

4     At Anderson Junior College, a video was made with students playing out short sketches about racial stereotypes and  insensitivities. Students were also interviewed about how they would go about solving the possible misunderstandings shown in the sketches and how meaningful ties can be fostered between different races in Singapore. Anderson’s students then viewed the video during mass civics lessons and had a forum to discuss the issues. These sessions received good feedback from the students, for the honesty of views and questions. There was also a high level of maturity in the discussions on sensitive issues.

5     Through many such efforts in our schools and JCs, students become aware that everyday activities in school can be opportunities to foster bonds.

This year’s celebration at the national level is planned around the theme of discovery, hence “Racial Harmony Discovery Day”.  The programme includes a discovery trail for some 1300 Primary 4 and Secondary 2 pupils led by Junior College student leaders and a group of NE Co-ordinators. It is a fun and exciting opportunity for pupils of the different races to interact actively with one another and learn from each other.

6     I am especially glad that the activity has been student-led, and student-designed.  Some 300 JC student leaders were involved in  planning the trail and facilitating the whole event.  27 JC 2 student leaders from some of our Junior Colleges and a Centralised Institute formed a multi-racial project team to conceptualize and design the trail. The student leaders themselves learnt something in the process, developed leadership skills of their own, and bonded as a team.

7     Besides the Racial Harmony Day Celebration, it is encouraging that schools are engaging our young in a range of other activities that allow them to forge closer bonds with each other. Activities like community involvement programmes, sports and other co-curricular activities, and even exchange programmes.

8     Take sepak takraw, a sport traditionally played by the Malays.  At Queensway Secondary School, the sport is popular amongst  pupils of all races. I am told that one of its best Sepak Takraw players is a Chinese boy, while the coach is an Indian. The sport has enabled pupils of all races to come together, challenge themselves and enjoy themselves together. They develop far more than sepak takraw skills.  Likewise, at New Town Secondary School, the Chinese Big Drum CCA has attracted a following among pupils of different races.

9     There are many other examples. It is a practice worth spreading. Our schools must consciously seek opportunities, through CCAs and the informal curriculum, for interaction and mixing among students of different ethnic groups.

Working with the Community to strengthen Racial Harmony

10    However, deepening racial harmony among our children, like any aspect of education, is not a quick fix. It is a long-term endeavour, involving schools, parents and the community.

More than anyone else, parents model the behaviour that their children pick up. Parents’ attitudes and manner towards neighbours, shopkeepers, and kids of other races in the neighbourhood are picked up quietly by their children.

Our schools,  on their part, are seeking to involve parents in  racial harmony activities.  Some schools give their parents the responsibility to organise  activities to raise students awareness of the richness of our multiracial society. I have seen parents respond with great energy and enthusiasm.

More schools are also collaborating with grassroots and community organizations in devising interesting and meaningful projects to promote interaction and understanding amongst the races. Chai Chee Secondary, for one, is collaborating with the  Siglap Neighbourhood Committee and Inter-Racial Confidence Circles to plan a 35 km Cyclathon tomorrow through scenic east of Singapore with stops at various places of worship including a mosque, a church and Chinese and Indian temples. This must I am sure get the prize for being the most exhausting racial harmony initiative this year.

Multiracialism Everyday

Singapore remains a safe and secure society only because it is our collective will to make it so. The Government is committed to ensuring that every Singaporean has the opportunity to realise his full promise in life, regardless of race, language or religion. And to providing, through our housing policies and schools, ample opportunity for Singaporeans to grow up together, live together and play together.

But multiracialism is not just a matter of having the right policies, whether in education or housing, or the right institutions. The Government will guard the common spaces, in our schools and neighbourhoods,  that are essential for multiracialism to survive. But it is ultimately not Government that makes us a multiracial society.

Multiracialism only comes about if we each do our part, as we go about our daily lives, in making the small efforts to get to know each other better, and develop a sense of comfort with each other. Small efforts like being sensitive to each other’s needs, looking out for a neighbour’s child, bringing each other into our conversations and games, extending a hand, or having a meal together. It is this quiet sensitivity to each other, between classmates and teammates, between colleagues and neighbours of different races and religions, that makes a truly multiracial society. These are the threads that ensure that our social fabric remains strong and vibrant, that we preserve peace and that we continue to prosper.

Conclusion

11    Finally, I hope that as you have fun with your friends and schoolmates along the Discovery Trail today. And as you do so, that  you will also re-discover roots and branches that may not have been obvious before, and find the great charm of the different cultures that we have in Singapore.  I wish you all a wonderful time.